Dec. 12, 2012 - The HuB Sarasota building came to life with amazing projection mapping animation when twenty four junior Motion Design students from Ringling College of Art + Design, led by Motion Design faculty Ed Cheetam, Dorian Angello, Jill Taffet, Ron Zeitler, Joe Russ, and Morgan Williams, created an incredible animation which was projected onto the side of the new HuB Building in downtown Sarasota this weekend. The project was a 5-week classroom endeavor created in collaboration with HuB Founder Rich Swier and his business partner Jesse Biter.

HuB Opening Illuminated with Building Projection by Ringling College Student Motion Design Team

Sarasota, FL – December 12, 2012 -- The HuB of Sarasota recently highlighted the grand opening of their new space with projected animation on the front façade of their newly renovated 40,000 sq. ft. building at 1680 Fruitville Road.

Motion Design is a professional career field that uses competency in animation, graphic design, advertising, and filmmaking to create design solutions such as movie opening sequences, introductory graphics for sports broadcasts, interactive web interfaces and visually compelling advertising.

According to HuB founder Rich Swier Jr., “It was appropriate that the HuB, as an incubator focused on creativity as the driver of new businesses, align with Ringling College on our grand opening as Ringling is educating the next generations of creatives. The Motion Design student team was able to grasp the nuances of what we wanted to communicate and where able to express in a visually compelling manner the vitality and energy of our organization.”

The HuB is a creative and collaborative space and community where entrepreneurs come together to develop ideas and contribute toward building a new economy and culture in Sarasota, Florida. Businesses launched out of the HuB include Clinipace (a digital contract research company launched 8 years ago which just raised $50MM), Real Digital Media (a digital signage company), PROskore (an online business reputation network), Lucid Global (an immersive technologies company focused on healthcare communications)y) and Dealers United (an independent automobile dealer network). Additional growing HuB ventures include HuB Studios and the HuB Fund.

"The HuB has played a key role in helping me launch my latest venture, Dealers United,” said Jesse Biter, cofounder of Dealers United. “Already at 20 employees, Dealers United has benefited from the resources of the HuB and the creativity of its people. Our employees are thrilled to be in such an exciting environment with so much energy.”

Ed Cheetham, Motion Design Program Director at Ringling College, said that “the HuB Projection project was successful as both a final animation and educational experience. We adopted a new classroom model that turned our department into a Motion Design Studio with 24 students and 6 faculty members creating a real production environment. The students were treated as working designers and animators and faculty took the roles of art, creative and technical directors. Rich Swier from the HuB and Jeff Hazelton from Lucid Global provided the job brief and arranged weekly presentation meetings with the students. We then spent the first two weeks working on concepts and designs, the next two and a half weeks on animation production and the last few days used to polish sound design and assemble the final deliverable.”

This collaborative effort allowed students to experience not only the technical challenges of the execution, but also the pressure and professional expectations of a working studio. From client meetings and concept pitches, to daily reviews and incorporating client suggestions, to meeting tight turn-around deadlines, the students truly experienced a professional work environment.

Mike Curtis, adjunct Ringling College Motion Design instructor, said, “These are valuable experiences that are not taught in a software manual, or in online training. The ability to bring the professional workplace into the classroom with experiences such as this is why Ringling graduates are so highly sought after - it's their ability to enter the workplace fully prepared for success.”

“Working with real clients - Rich Swier, Jeff Hazelton and everyone at the HuB - has been incredibly rewarding opportunity, said Ringling College junior Hunter R. Thompson. “The challenge of creating a six minute animation in such a short amount of time brought our class together to work and solve real world problems creatively like never before. We all held each other to a exceptionally high standard of professionalism and accountability. I'm very proud of our class, and grateful to the HuB for such a meaningful learning experience.” Ringling College will be graduating its first Motion Design class in spring 2013.

Rich Swier concluded by saying, “the net result and benefit to the HuB was that we received a visually commanding building projection that amazed us all and really brought our building to life. The collaboration of this project symbolizes the spirit of what the HuB is all about and of the future we intend to build working with the creative talent we have here in our community.”

The success of HuB-based Lucid Global is a case in point of the advantages of alliances and collaboration between business and academia. Lucid Global President & cto Jeff Hazelton has developed a 3D immersive visualization technology in global demand by the worlds’ top pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Jeff also works as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Motion Design and recruits aggressively among promising Ringling students, employing 11 Ringling graduates to date to help create and deliver cutting edge mobile apps to Lucid Global’s clients.

About Ringling College of Art and DesignRingling College of Art and Design is a private, not-for-profit, fully accredited college offering the Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in 13 disciplines: Advertising Design, Computer Animation, Digital Film-making, Fine Arts, Game Art & Design, Graphic & Interactive Communication, Illustration, Interior Design, Motion Design, Painting, Photography & Digital Imaging, Printmaking, and Sculpture, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Business of Art & Design. Located in Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the picturesque 48-acre campus now includes more than 110 buildings, and enrolls 1,368 students from 42 states and 53 countries. It is recognized as being among the best and most innovative visual arts colleges in the United States as well as a leader in the use of technology in the arts. www.ringling.edu